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Local Hockey

Storm blowing out of town

Canmore Eagle Coy Prevost watches Charles Olivier Levesque stop the puck during their game against the Grande Prairie Storm on Friday, December 15, 2017 at the Canmore Recreation Centre. photo by Pam Doyle/www.pamdoylephoto.com

The Grande Prairie Storm open the new year with a three-game road trip against Alberta Junior Hockey League North Division foes. They face the Drayton Valley Thunder, the Sherwood Park Crusaders and the Spruce Grove Saints.

The road trip started Thursday night in Drayton Valley. As of press time the final score was unavailable.

The club has lost its last eight games on the road going into Thursday’s game, dropping their record away from the friendly confines of Revolution Place to 5-11-1. The Storm will spend a fair amount of time on the bus this month, six of their 10 games are away from home.

The their last road victory came Nov. 15 when they beat the Crusaders 5-4 in the extra session.

Storm head coach Matt Keillor likened their road performance to the pursuit of academic excellence, among other things. But it all boils down to being ready when the puck hits the centre ice at 7:30 p.m.

“It’s like an exam, if you don’t prepare yourself and do things the right way and study at the right times, when it comes to the exam, you won’t have the confidence,” Keillor said. “(For us) the exam is the game. You want to be a professional. This is junior A hockey and they have to understand they have to live and treat themselves like professionals. I can’t babysit them morning and night.”

Storm assistant captain Walker Cote didn’t blame the brilliant conditions over at Revolution Place as the sole cause of their road woes but, according to him, going on the road is a let down.

But the defenceman knows something has got to give and it’s got to happen soon.

“We have an amazing facility and we have the most fans in the league and you go on the road and there are 100 fans (at the game) and there is no atmosphere,” Cote said. “That’s always an adjustment for us to play in front of no one. We prepare ourselves like we do for home games but we have to find a way to win on the road.”

And with teams below them in the standings starting to close in the rear-view mirror there is a sense the club must get maximum points in at least two of the opening three games. Going into Thursday nights action, the Storm are one point out of fifth and three points from sixth place.

“We’re playing north division rivals, and besides Spruce Grove, we’re all in the same area (of the standings) battling for points in the standings and home ice in the playoffs,” Cote said. “These points are important to get this weekend.”

“Teams like Drayton and Sherwood Park, who are below us in the standings, are teams we need to make sure we handle our business with,” Keillor added.

And the carrot dangling at the end of the stick is the thought of home-ice advantage for the playoffs. Home-ice advantage is something coaches and players believe is an edge other teams don’t have.

“(The players) know how tight it is and they want home-ice advantage,” Keillor said. “In the back of our minds, knowing how we play at home, and how great our fan base has been this year, we want to play more games in our barn. It’s the best atmosphere in the AJHL. It will help us, give us an advantage.”

Kings open 2018 schedule on Friday

The County of Grande Prairie JDA Kings return to action after their holiday break.

Friday, the Kings (15-9-0-2) travel to play the Fort St. John Huskies (17-5).